Belt-shifter.



R. G. HENRY & W. J. BAYRBR.

BELT SHIFTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 14, 1011.

Patented Sept. 23, 1913.

I v! llllo Wit eases.-

UNTTED STATltlei ilfllirlllilNT OFFTCE.

ROBERT G. HENRY, OF WEST HARTFORD, AND WILLIAM J. BAYRER, OF HARTFORD,CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNORS TO THE HENRY & WRIGHT MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OFHARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

IBELT-SHIFTER.

Specification of Letters latent.

atentedScpt.b3,.1913.

Application filed August 14, 1911. Serial No. 643,965.

To all *LUZlO Hb it may concern Be it known that we, Ronnn'r Gr. HENRYand \ViLi/Liti' J. BAYIHGR, citizens of the United States, residing atlV est Hartford and Hartford, respectively, in the county of iiartfordand State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Belt-Shifters, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to belt shifters, the object of the inventionbeing to provide an effective and compact device of this character bywhich the angle of a belt can be varied without affecting its drivingability, by reason of which a machine can be placed. at any desirableplace with respect to an overhead or otherwise positioned pulley, andstill be properly driven.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of the presentspecification we have shown in detail one convenient form of embodimentof the invention, which will be fully set forth in the followingdescrnption, such disclosure being to enable those skilled in the art topractice the invention.

From such statement it will be clear that we do not restrict ourselvesto said disclosure; we may depart therefrom in several respectswithinthe scope of the invention included in the claims succeeding saiddescription.

Referring to said drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a beltshifter embodying our invention and also shows fast and loose pulleysand certain other parts, the belt shifting member being represented asoccupying two positions by full and dotted lines respectively and thebelt being also similarly shown. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of theparts shown in said Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1looking in the direction of the arrow.

Like characters refer to like parts throughout the several figures ofthe d -awings.

A belt shifter involving our invention comprises a body and a beltshifting member carried by said body for adjustment in an arcuatedirection, and while this result can be obtained in several ways, weprefer that said body be annular and that the belt shifting member beadjustable thereon in such manner that said member can be adjustedrelatively to the belt. In mentioning loose pulleys 6 and 7.

this body as annular we do not necessarily mean that said part iscircular but rather that it is continuous or in the form of a band. lVcobtain the best effects, however, by making said body of circularforn'i, although it is clear that we do not restrict ourselves in thisrespect, in that we readily provide for the adjustability of the beltshifting member in a circular direction. There is an advantage followingthe construction of said supporting body in annular :lorn'i, in that thesaid body can surround the pulleys, it being moved laterally when itbecomes necessary to move a belt from one pulley to another.

It will be apparent from the observations already made that ourinvention contemplates broadly a belt shifter having an annular bodyprovided with belt shifting means whether the belt shiilting means beadjustable or not, although as already intimated we obtain mostsatisfactory results where the belt shifting means is adjustable on thesupporting body.

In Figs. 1 and 9. of the drawings we have shown a shaft 5 which carriesthe tight and This shaft 5 may either be a driving or a driven shaft.The belt shiftable from the pulley (3 to the pulley 7 and vice versa, isdenoted by S.

A supporting body such as answers our remiiren'ients is that denoted ina general way by 9, said supporting body being shown as circular, oflarger diameter than and adapted to alternately surround the pulleys (3and 7. Said supporting body 9 is shown provided at or upon itscircumference with an enlargement or hub 10 which may be bored toreceive the rod 11 rigidly connected to the said body t) by a screw 12tapped through said hub 10 and engaging the rod 11. This constructionalso provides a simple means for adjustably connecting said rod or itsequivalent with the supporting body 9. The rod 111 is sustained forlongitudinal sliding movement by a bearing 13 constituting part of thefran'lewoik of the machine or other apparatus with which the two pulleys(3 and 7 are associated and a key such as the screw 1 1; is provided forpreventing the rod 11 turning in said bearing 13. The screw 14 is tappedthrough the bearing 13 and enters a longitudinal keyway or slot 15 inthe rod 11. To operate said rod 11 and therefore the supporting body 9any suitable means may be provided, for example the lever 16 fulcrumedto the bearing 17 also constituting part of said framework and connectedas by the pivot 18 with the outer end of the rod 11.

As already stated the annular supporting body 9 is provided with beltshifting means which may vary as to character but which as alreadyindicated is preferably adjustable and a device such as answers ourrequirements is that denoted by 19. Said belt shifting member asillustrated consists of a loo-p or eye through which one run of the belt8 is adapted to pass, said loop or eye 19 being provided with a shank 20which is grooved or slotted to fit the annular flange 21 upon thecircumference of the supporting body 9. It will, therefore, be obviousthat the belt shifting member 19 may be adjusted to occupy practicallyany station upon. the annular or circular flange which is almostcontinuous, being interrupted only by the hub or enlargement 10 to whichwe have already referred. Therefore the range of adjustment of the beltshifting member 19 is very large. Through one branch of the forked shank20 is shown tapped a screw 22 which is adapted to engage the flange 21to thereby hold the belt shifting member 19 in an adjusted position.

It will be assumed that the belt 8 is on the loose pulley 7 and that thebelt shifting member 19 is clamped in the position shown in Fig. l andthat it is desired to shift the said belt onto the tight pulley 6. casethe hand lever 16 is swung to the right in Fig. 1 thereby through therod 11 movlng the supporting body 9 in a corresponding direction wherebythe belt shifting member 19 will move the belt from the said pulley 7 tothe pulley 6. It is assumed that there are pulleys directly above thepulleys 6 and 7 and in this case the belt 8 will occupy thepositionshown by full lines in Fig. 1. It.

In this I will be supposed that the belt should run at an angle such forinstance as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. In this event it isnecessary to change the position of the belt shifting member 19 which isaccomplished by loosening the screw 22 and then moving the said member19 along the flange 21 until it is in the correct position at whichpoint the screw 22 is tightened up. It will be clear that we can providefor transference of power by means of belts disposed at practically anyangle. It is evident that belt shifters of the ordinary type possess thedisadvantage that machines have to be placed with great care so as toavoid the belts rubbing against the shifters when the belts are in anangular position. This difliculty we eliminate.

What we claim is:

1. A belt shifter comprising a circular supporting body provided with acircumferential flange extending outward therefrom at approximatelyright angles thereto, a block slidably engaged with said flange andprovided with belt engaging means, means for clamping said block to saidflange, and means for moving said supporting body sidewise.

2. A belt shifter comprising a circular supporting body provided with acircumferential flange extending outward at an angle thereto, a blockstraddling and slidable on said flange, provided with belt engagingmeans, a set screw on the block for engaging said flange to hold theblock in an adjusted position, and means for moving said supporting bodysidewise.

In testimony whereof we afliX our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

ROBERT G. HENRY. WILLIAM J. BAYRER.

Witnesses HEATH SUTHERLAND, JAMES OBRIEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

